I’ve been working on preparing for an algebra test that I have to take next Friday (college placement test 15 years after I took Algebra). I’ve learned a lot in the last 7 hours, stuff my high school algebra teacher never managed to get across to me.
I found this website called algebrahelp.com. This site is great. They have lessons on what to do with Algebra and then worksheets you can use to see if you actually learned something.
The most important thing I’ve learned though has nothing to do with Algebra.
Basically it boils down to this:
If you have spent the last 12 years primarily using a computer and NOT a pencil, writer’s cramp is a given. (The school doesn’t allow calculators of any kind so I’m doing all my figuring by hand.)
If you also have a swollen, itchy, throbbing mosquito bite on the back of your hand, said writer’s cramp will engulf not only your hand but your entire arm, straight up to the neck.
Methinks I need to go out and buy an antihistamine.
I’m sorry about your poor hand, and I hope you do well on the test.
I wish I’d known about that site before I took my placement test last summer. As it was, I scored a 27, out of 100, on the math part.
The good thing was, my advisor put my into Stats anyway, based on the grade I got in my last college math class. One of the best things I’ve ever done.
Good luck with your test.
Another great free site is Khan Academy. [del]Hundreds[/del] Thousands of short video lessons in everything from arithmetic to college-level math and more.
For mosquito bites: Take a washcloth and wet part of it. Microwave it until the wet part is really hot. Holding it by the cooler dry part, repeatedly dab the wet part on the bite, holding it on the bite as long as you can before you have to pull it off because of the heat. Reheat the cloth if you need to. The swelling and itching will nearly vanish after doing this a few times.
Or hold the bite under the hottest water you can stand - it’ll make the itch and pain disappear for a while.
Luck on the test.
Thanks guys!
I’ve found another site, math.com, which is great except that the worksheets don’t seem to be working and i can’t figure out what I need to do to make them work.
I narrowly avoided having to write an essay too. My 14 year old English scores were more than good enough but they have since added an essay to the test. Luckily for me, they accepted my transfer credits, 2 of which are English classes.
If I don’t score high enough on this test, I’ll have to come up with the money to take basic Algebra in the second summer session or else I’ll have to drop my Biology class in the fall. There is no way in hell I’m taking a semester of psychology, sociology, liberal arts, and spanish without something fun like Biology. That would be torture.
My sister told me to put a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol on the bite to dry it out. I don’t know if her method worked or if the bite just ran its course but it’s no longer swollen and only mildly itches. I’ll definitely be able to test out the other suggestions you guys gave though as I have another bite between 2 of my toes on my left foot, on the ball of my right foot, on the back of my right knee, and interestingly enough - on my right butt cheek. The worst one right now is on my left elbow, about 1/2 an inch from my surgery scar, which is still very sensitive a year later. GAH!
When my boyfriend gets home from work, we’re going to go out and buy citronella candles to put by the back door so I can bring the dogs out at night in relative safety. I’ll also get some witch hazel (I love that smell), and an antihistamine. I wouldn’t mind the bites so much if it just itched. I can handle itchy. But I have very sensitive skin and I swell even when a mosquito just lands on me so when they actually pierce the skin, it gets really bad. I can’t believe how unprepared I was for this mosquito season. This was definitely my own stupidity. I’ve had mosquito bites cause my arm to swell to twice its size. I never should have waited this long to stock up on supplies. Of course I’ve never lived in a place with such monstrous and abundant mosquitoes either!
I just looked at that website again and noticed something I missed in my brief perusal:
BIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY! PHYSICS! OMG!!! This site is awesome! This is going right to the top of my bookmarks!
thankyouthankyouthankyou!! 
Windex. Or Hertel. Or any other ammonia-based cleaner. It sounds silly, but there are companies selling products (After Bite) which are basically ammonia in water. I find household cleaners to work just as well, they are a lot cheaper per volume, and I already have them around the house.
I have a Costco size bottle of bleach. 
KHAAAAANNNNN!!!
Oooh! The videos are creative-commons licensed! Time to start downloading… my calculus is a [del]bit[/del] lot rusty.
Creative-commons licensed? What does that mean and should I be excited too?
Means you can download them and watch them for free, and some versions of the license let you share them or even use them in your own works.
[sub]I can see it now. A techno remix of Calculus 101…[/sub]
Cooool. Now, I’m not well versed in a lot of new electronics. If I had something like a Kindle or a Nook, could I download them to that?
Thank you for KHAN ACADEMY!!!1111!!!ElevetyJuan!
Assuming they could play videos from the internet, yes.